Sportscotland has launched a £10m, four-year funding plan which will create 50 new regional development posts for scottish governing bodies of sport (SGBs).

The new investment will also see a Direct Club Investment (DCI) programme being launched to support the growth of individual clubs.

The new investment for the regional development posts - totaling £5.8m over the next four years - is part of a strategy to ensure there are more professional people working directly to support local sport clubs, which will help improve the overall quality of the school to club to performance pathways.

According to Stewart Harris, CEO of sportscotland, the new grants mark a significant change in the way local sport clubs in Scotland are supported, and will provide a model which helps clubs develop in a sustainable way.

"We are making significant progress in implementing a world-class sporting system at all levels, and this investment demonstrates our commitment to the growth of clubs throughout the country," he said.

"The connection between school sport, club sport, and high performance sport is crucial in our drive to provide more and better opportunities for people to become involved in sport and physical activity."

Manwhile, the DCI is designed to support large-scale club development projects over a two to four-year period, with a focus on either growing club membership or enhancing club environments to allow the development of high performance athletes, with some clubs focusing on both aspects.

In the first year it is expected that around 50 clubs will be supported through DCI, with 11 clubs having already secured investment.

Any sport club can submit a business case to apply for investment, with all cases then considered and approved by their respective Regional Sporting Partnership before finally being considered by a sportscotland panel.